Having built the structure in part one, this part covers the details that make the site look respectable, and the publishing step.
Customising the look
From the themes tab you can choose a ready theme and adjust it: colours, fonts, and heading styles.
A practical tip: pick two colours only — a primary and one for buttons — and one font. Simplicity makes a site look cleaner; excess variety looks random.
If you have a logo, use its colours. If not, choose a calm colour and keep it consistent across every page.
The header and the logo
You can upload the logo at the top of the site and choose a background image for the header. Make the image relevant to your work — a photo of your premises or your product beats any generic image.
And write a short line in the header explaining your activity, because it is the first thing read.
Adding useful elements
- A contact form (Google Forms). Responses reach you automatically in a spreadsheet.
- A map (Google Maps). Essential for any business with a location.
- A YouTube video. Explains your service faster than any text.
- Files and documents. A company profile or a price list.
- Buttons. For calling, WhatsApp or booking.
That integration is the tool's strongest feature, and it saves you several other services.
Make contact easy
The site's main goal is for the visitor to get in touch. Put a contact method in more than one place: at the top, in the middle, and at the foot of the page.
And if you rely on WhatsApp, use a direct link that opens the conversation immediately. Every extra step loses you a share of people.
Check it on a phone
There is a preview button showing the site on a phone and a tablet. Check every page before publishing.
The most common problems: oversized text, cropped images, and buttons too close together. Those fixes are simple but they have to be seen.
Publishing
Press publish and choose the site address. It will take the form sites.google.com/view/your-site-name.
You can also decide who can see the site: everyone, or specific people (useful if it is an internal site for the team).
After publishing, any edit you make does not appear to visitors until you press publish again. That point confuses many people.
Connecting your own domain
A long address is not practical for a business. If you own a domain (your-company.com), you can connect it from the settings.
The steps in brief: from site settings choose custom domains, enter the domain, then go to your domain provider's dashboard and add the required record. Activation takes from a few hours to a day.
A domain costs very little annually and makes a real difference to credibility — especially if you will print the address on a card or in an advert.
Helping the site appear in search
Optimisation options are limited, but there are basics you should do:
- Name each page clearly (Services, About Us, Contact Us).
- Use the words people actually search for in your headings.
- Mention your city and area if the service is local.
- Register your business on Google Business Profile and link it to the site — the most important step for any local service.
Update it periodically
A site with outdated information is worse than no site. Update prices, photos and opening hours periodically, and remove any service you no longer offer.
Set a reminder every three months to review the information — it takes ten minutes and prevents awkward moments with customers.
Connect the site to everything else
A site is not an island. Link it everywhere: in your account bios, in your email signature, on your business card, and in your Google Business Profile.
And in the other direction, put links to your accounts on the site so a visitor can follow you if they are not ready to buy now. Someone who visited and left without you capturing them in any way is a lost opportunity.
Track your visits
You can connect the site to Google Analytics to see how many people visited, from where, and where they spent time.
That information guides you: if most people stop on the services page, the prices or the detail are missing. If they leave the home page quickly, it is not clear what you do.
Do not drown in detail — two numbers are enough at the start: number of visits, and how many reached the contact page.
Make sure the contact page actually works
Test the form yourself after publishing, send a test message, and confirm it arrived. And test the number and the link from a phone rather than a computer.
That step takes two minutes, and it prevents the worst possible outcome: a site running for months, reaching people, and not one message reaching you because something was set up wrongly.
In short
Customise the look simply (two colours and one font), add a contact form, a map and direct buttons, check on a phone, publish, and connect your own domain if you can.
Then update it periodically. A simple site kept current beats a beautiful abandoned one.
This is part two of the Google Sites course — part one covers the tool and the build steps.